FUMC ESL 10-31-2013 ADVANCED LESSON HALLOWEEN

Label these pictures:

Teachers: Have the students read each number. Ask them about vocabulary they might not know. Then
encourage discussion on the questions.

1-Halloween is about scaring and being scared..Share with the group your scariest moment since
youve been in the US.

2-List some things youre scared of.

3-Have you ever been trick or treating? Have your children? Were you living in the U.S. last Halloween?
Did you have trick or treaters come to your door?

4-Have you ever been to a Halloween party? Did you wear a costume? Describe your costume.

5-Have you ever carved a pumpkin? Do you like to eat pumpkin? We eat pumpkin in pies. We roast
pumpkin seeds for snacks. How do you like to prepare pumpkin? Do you eat any other types of gourds?

6-Do you believe in ghosts? Did you like scary ghost stories when you were young?

7-Have you ever been to a haunted house? Was it fun?

8-Witches fly on broomsticks, have black cats, make witchs brew in black cauldrons. In the 1600s,
people were burned at the stake for being witches. That was a shameful time in our history. People were
very superstitious. Are people superstitious in your country?

9-Halloween has been celebrated for thousands of years in the British Isles. Before Christianity people
believed that during the three days from October 31st to November 2nd, the boundary between the
material world and the spiritual world was porous (there were holes in it). It was easy for spirits to move
back and forth during this time. Sometimes people dressed as witches or spirits to try to keep evil spirits
from harming them. Bonfires would be built on the hilltops. People would extinguish their hearth fires and
relight them from the common bonfire. Perhaps jack o lanterns were used at this time to bring the fire
back to the home. Poor people and children would disguise themselves in costumes and go from house
to house begging.

10-After Christianity, the church changed this holiday. It became a time to honor the hallowed (sacred)
souls of people who had died. It became known as All Souls Day or All Saints Day.

11-Do you celebrate Halloween or a holiday like it in your country? How is it celebrated? Do you have a
holiday to honor those who have died? What customs are part of this celebration?

12-Would you allow your children to trick or treat? Do you think it is dangerous?
13-How old is too old to trick or treat? Is it OK for teenagers to trick or treat?

14-Do you see any Halloween decorations that you feel are inappropriate?

Read the sentence and define the underlined word.

1.We were reading quietly when suddenly we heard a bloodcurdling scream.
2.When we entered the old, abandoned house, we heard an eerie noise. We left in a hurry.
3.We were so frightened, we couldnt sleep.
4.The children were disguised as ghosts. We couldnt recognize them.
5.Creatures from the supernatural world run about collecting candy on Halloween.
6.They didnt give us any candy, so we played a prank on them.

Read these silly Halloween riddles. Tell why they are funny.
1-How do you fix a jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch.
2-What did the french fries dress up as for Halloween?
Masked potatoes.
3-What do you call a witch who lives at the beach?
A sand witch.
4-What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Frostbite.
5-Why didnt the skeleton cross the road?
He didnt have the guts.
6-What do you call a skeleton who wont work?
Lazy bones